Reply to SSSAS - what is the culture like currently?

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "SSSAS - what is the culture like currently?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No dog in the fight here — my kids go to Big 3 schools.

However, it is totally disingenuous to say that a grade is “lovely,” then say just because there’s a few bad eggs doesn’t mean it ain’t.

Middle school dynamics are challenging everywhere. However, if even a few kids are being bullied, that reflects badly on the entire school.

If an administration can’t respond effectively to social aggression among a few kids, those kids will set the tone for the school.  So sad that people are delegitimizing the experience of girls who were bullied, saying it’s just a few parents with “sour grapes.”

If my daughters had been bullied and the school did not respond effectively, I certainly would sour on the school.

The fact that supposedly mature adults would say this about the way little girls were treated and minimize their pain says some ugly things about the SSSAS parent community,

[/quote]

2025: That “sour “ experience is true for at least several girls in the MS. It started at the LS and just spreads to new and seasoned students. The bullies seem to take a page from online inspiration, the behavior of their parents’, some of the teachers, faculty-parents, and even some of the administrators themselves. They don’t all/always wear a billboard - it also can be a polite cold-shoulder or a disingenuous smile fueled by contempt. Maybe it’s the same at other area private schools, but that doesn’t excuse the behavior. It might be a tradition at SSSAS: some of those parents are alumni.

The administrators do take some action in cases of younger children behaving violently in front of their class, but starting in the LS even known physical aggression isn’t proportionately addressed much less is social-emotional bullying. Starting in the 5th grade for some class years but even younger in other class years, the bullying is often covert, and some teachers victim-blame and, when administrators don’t ignore it, either their measures are tepid despite degree of offense (severity, recurrence) or are directed at the bullies’ targets not the bullies. The group chats with the counselors seem to be fairly generic. The sum total is that the insidious toxicity isn’t a secret, formal programs are ineffective and policies are mostly just on-paper, even if some are oblivious to it, are spared, or use blinders, ineffective.

That doesn’t mean every student, parent, teacher, administrator, board member, etc. is toxic or neglectful, but that’s moot. Some do try to help in their own way with some things. But a select few hold the reins and set the tone and practice, but the tone and practice cultivate lack of empathy and respect and enables abuse. That might be mediocrity, but it’s certainly a level of toxic that’s avoidable.
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics